Joining Laurence for this episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast is Pete from Pyramid Park! Pete is a songwriter, recording artist and studying graphic designer, alongside being a dad to two girls aged seven and three. Wonder how he finds time to fit all of that in? Listen to the episode!

Alongside the discussion around Pete’s work in the music world, he shares many other stories including some relating to grief of losing a loved one. Having lost his dad at the age of 11, Pete recently also went through the process of losing his mother-in-law. We talk about how he has been able to take those situations and turn them into something tangible through the medium of music, which in turn has allowed him to connect with people how have experienced similar losses. Listen to Father Father by clicking here, and stay tuned to his social pages for the future release we discuss!

Pete also shares about how important his relationship with his wife is and how it allows him to be the best he can be, enabling him to put the needed attention into work with his music, discussing how differences between partners can be what’s needed to provide the best environment for children.

Check out Pete at @1PyramidPark

Todays episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast features John Kirkland from The Fathering Project.

John has 4 children ranging from 8-18 so we talk about what life has looked like throughout his different stages of being a father, as well as how his career as a teacher has impacted his parenting.

The Fathering Project is an Australian based charity which exists to help dads connect more with their kids and with other dads primarily through various dad groups and school initiatives. John tells the story of how he found out about the project whilst a teacher and now he works for them, further facilitating connections and growth for dads throughout Australia.

John has a lot of insight and stories to share from a parent’s perspective, a teacher’s perspective and the perspective of a charity work focusing on dads.

Episode 10 of the Dad Dialogue podcast is live! Joining Laurence this week is Khaled from America. Khaled has two sons with a third on the way due two months after the recording of this episode. In this episode we talk about the transition of one to two children as well as any preparations for number three.

Khaled and his wife are both children of immigrants to the United States so we talk about how that varied heritage has helped shaped him into the husband and father he is.

Before having children, Khaled had some serious health issues, around the time of losing his job also. He shares this story with a very positive light and has used it to impact the rest of is life for good.

Khaled hosts the 40/40 Vision Podcast, a sports history podcast and I would recommend checking it out if you are interested in hearing more!

After a bit of a summer hiatus, Dad Dialogue is back with the 9th episode in the series. Host Laurence is joined by Justin for this latest instalment. Justin is a teacher from America who has two children, a boy and a girl. In this episode we talk about the main differences between his two children and the relationship they have grown together.

Justin and his family recently went through some health problems involving his wife. He opens up in this episode sharing about that long journey with us, the challenges that brought and how he had to adapt and take on the responsibility of supporting his wife and kids through that situation.

We also talk about Justin’s own upbringing, his relationship with his parents and how that has played a role in creating him in to the father he is today.

Justin hosts The Main Attraction podcast all about TV shows and movies, go and give his show a listen!

A new series within the Dad Dialogue world - Dad Diaries. These will be occasional episodes where the host Laurence sits down to share and discuss something without another guest present.

In this first edition of the format, Laurence shares the story (stories) involving his oldest son Micah and some health issues that resulted in a couple of ambulance trips and hospital stays.

After learning how common respiratory issues are in young children, Laurence wanted his stories to be heard to help inform others.

Sources:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7800004/

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/15203-wheezing

Music by Jeremy Blake @RedMeansRecording

For the 8th episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast, Laurence is joined by Tim. Tim is originally from Australia and he and his family now live in Germany, having lived in other European countries before. As he and his wife both have various heritages and family all over the world, the main topic of our conversation revolves around travelling, and more specifically, travelling with a young child. 

Tim’s son, Jonathan, is now 16 months old and has visited 12 countries already. Tim talks about the heart behind making all of this travel happen, as well as some stories about challenges that have come up and how Tim responded. 

While not every parent has the desire or need to travel frequently, I think all can benefit from hearing Tim’s perspective about choices made early on in Jonathan’s life to maximise different aspects of his family’s lives. 

Buckle in for a slightly longer episode! 

Laurence is joined by Mário for the seventh episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast. Mário is a fairly new father having welcomed his son, Bruno, into the world in April 2024.

Mário talks about some of the struggles he went through in the build up and during the birth of his first child, as well as the steps he took to try and prepare for the birth and preparing to be a father.

Mário’s story will resonate with many parents out there and serves as a usual reminder to what those early stages are like. Maybe you are not a new father or thinking of having a new child, please do listen to Mário’s story through a lens of reflection, thinking of your experiences. Maybe you could support an expecting parent or a new parent in your world?

Mário uses a word in this episode you may not be familiar with - a kraamzorg. This is a Dutch word and it is a type of maternity nurse who would visit the home of new parents soon after bringing home their baby. This was not explicitly discussed in the conversation.

For episode 6 of the Dad Dialogue podcast, host Laurence is joined by Chris. Chris works for a Christian charity and in this conversation we talk about how he was inspired by his parents to following in their footsteps and how he hopes his actions inspire his daughters. We also talk about the importance Chris puts on his role of protecting his daughters and raising girls in this current environment. Enjoy the episode!

The first grandfather on the Dad Dialogue Podcast! Coming on to the show is Darcy McAlister. Darcy is from Canada and has many different roles and responsibilities within different spaces, but he sums it up by saying he works alongside his wife, Leanne, to help build leaders. They do these through numerous different channels and he speaks about some of that during our conversation. Darcy has three children and five grandchildren.

Darcy opens up and shares numerous stories about he has led his family in the best way he could. Listen now to hear how Darcy has shown intentionality as a husband, father and grandfather and continues to strive to be the best he can be.

You can hear more from Darcy at the company he and Leanne run called Zoe Network.

On the fourth instalment of the Dad Dialogue Podcast, host Laurence is joined by Joe. Originally from America, Joe moved to the Netherlands with his wife so she could continue her studies. Listen to the episode to learn what lead them to stay and eventually have kids here too. Joe shares about his experiences of being a foreigner in a unfamiliar system and trying his best to be prepared for the arrival of his kids. He also talks about the moment where he realised he could do more for his family, deciding to make a commitment which lead to the organic formation and growth of a city wide dad group which now contains more than 300 members.

In this third episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast, Laurence is joined by his friend Matt from Hong Kong. Matt is the dad to Nora who at the time of recording was 9 months old. Matt owns and runs a company which obviously brings a lot of challenges, we talk about how he manages his workload now he is a dad in addition to the other roles he has. In the conversation, Matt opens up about the struggles he and his wife went through trying to start a family

Joining Laurence for the second episode of the Dad Dialogue Podcast is Mark from South Africa. Mark has two kids, a girl - Taylor 9 and a boy - Aron 1, Mark moved to The Netherlands at a similar time as Laurence so there is a lot of discussion around that recent move, the decision process that went into it, the struggles it has brought as well as the hope for the future benefits. There is also some conversation around faith playing an important role in the parenting journey as well as unpacking the differences between fathering a girl and a boy.

On the very first episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast, host Laurence is joined by long-time friend, Matt. Matt is a dad to 4 year old Levi and is a self-employed musician and designer. In this conversation, we talk about Matt's journey to self-employment, through the challenge of the Covid pandemic as well as factoring in the birth of Levi along the way.

Welcome to the Dad Dialogue podcast! In this episode, get to know a little bit about the host, Laurence Chinery, hear the story behind the formation of this podcast and hear a few clips from the first few episodes.